Potlatch at 29 lacplesa Riga

The potlatch is a northwest Native American tradition where a family hosts a meal and then gives gifts to the people who come to celebrate. As many of you who travel know packing to go home is quite a process, fitting everything in, all those gifts and souvenirs, deciding what doesn't' need to go back with you. We invited the young Americans, Whit, Vera, Laura, Monica and Jill that we've shared our Riga time with to come for a meal...it was clean out the fridge and take home with them "gifts". So they came....we had beet salad, cabbage/carrot salad, bread and cheese, wine, coke, olives and pickles. Ice cream and cookies. We sent them home with a hair dryer, books, post it notes, markers, a map of St. Petersburg. I think the high lights for them were the tram tickets and the Rimi stickers. We also were able to pass on our unfinished staples:beer, spices, oil and vinegar, noodles, rice, baking soda, cocoa and tea. It was great to see them all and we're looking forward to seeing our children, grand children and friends at home. That's not us in the final picture but it is one more poser from Riga.....What are these people doing?

Russia to Riga to Boston

We are back from our short trip to Russia. We saw many churches and palaces both in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The highlight of course was visiting Anatoly the grandfather of one of the Riga Fulbright students. Without him we would have been lost in Moscow, with him we visited the Kremlin and it's many churches, Red Square and beautiful Metro stations with mosaic ceilings and marble walls. We walked along Tverskaya Street from Puskin Square to Red Square. Went on a city tour to take in a panoramic view of Moscow a city of 10 million people. The Cathedral of the Church of Christ the Savior started in 1817 by the Emporer Alexander I and took 40 years to build. In 1883 it was sanctified in the presence of Emporer Alexander III.

In 1931 it was destroyed by order of Stalin's political bureau. The site was turned into an open air swimming pool which could accomodate 20 thousand. In 1994 the swimming pool was closed and the reconstruction of the church began opening it's doors December 31, 1999. The icons, candles and painting on walls, pedestals, iconoclasts and are dazzling. After Moscow we spent a day in St. Petersburg "the Venice of the North". Another very large city. Did the city tour and spent four hours in the Hermiage, after we could find where to buy the tickets. Saw paintings by Picasso, Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, many religious painting including one by Fra Fililp Lippi and elaborately decorated rooms of the Winter Palace. All the while being able to look out the windows at the Neva Embankment. I have no pictures of St. Petersburg since my camera died in Red Square. I have since recharged it for our final pictures of Riga. We leave for home tomorrow and will be in Boston Monday afternoon.

Midsummer Celebration Jani

Friday until Tuesday there have Jani, Midsummer, celebrations. We went to two one in a Riga park and another at the Turaida Museum preserve in the small town of Sigulda. Both had singing, dancing and Jani food which is pirags, caraway cheese, dark rye bread with honey and beer. The typical Jani flowers are daisies, clover and blue cornflowers woven into head wreaths for the women and oak leaf wreaths for the men. We heard somewhere that only men named Janis wear the oak leave wreaths. If that is true there are many men named Janis in Latvia.
There were bonfires and more singing and music. Of course the tradition is to stay up through the night, from about midnight to 3 am on the 23 to the 24. We walked back to our guest house in Sigulda about 11:30 and it was still light in that after sunset twilight. A great celebration.

Latvia in Three Days

We have had the last of our visitors to Riga, Mattias and Gudrun from Beedenbostel. Everyone who has visited us here has said they'll come back to Riga because they were delighted with the atmosphere and all of the interesting places to visit. For Bob and I it is also interesting to show people "our Riga" since each "visitor" had somewhat different interests. But with only three days there are some places everyone wanted to see and visit. So....if you come to Riga and have only three days here is what we did this weekend with Mattais and Gudrun.

Saturday they arrived at the airport, I met them and we took the express autobus 22a into the city stopping by the Katedral on Brivibas. Later we had a walk through Old Town with a pause at the Freedom Monument for the flower laying on ceremony to commerate the Victims of the Communist Genocide. We had a quick bite at Alus Seta a branch of the Lido chain found in vecriga (Old Town). Later the opera. The Latvian National Opera production of Siegfried began at 5 in the evening and was over at 10:30. There were two long intermissions and we could enjoy the view of the parks and flowers from the balcony of the opera house. Siegfried is part of Wagner's ring cycle and this portion is new this year. The music was wonderful and at the curtain call they had the entire orchestra up on the stage. It was helpful to have Mattias fill me in on the Ring Saga. He said originally Brunhilde was a princess of Iceland. That fits since she is surrounded by a ring of fire and Iceland has volcanoes. He said it is always interesting to see how Fraher the dragon is portrayed. It is just a short walk back to the apartment and it was still light for our walk. Sunday we visited the Open Air Museum a twenty minute bus ride outside of Riga. We saw the historic buildings, linen work, outdoor gardens and crafts made by some of the homestead caretakers. I had seen an art exhibit earlier this year with the threshing shed presented in various seasons and times of day representative for the artist as a symbol for Latvia. We walked in the Old Town and had a drink at the Top of the Hotel Reval Latvia. Monday we walked through the central market and then in the afternoon we took a thirty minute train ride to Majori in Jurmala where we walked on the beach, found a cafe for coffee to sit out the rain, looked in shops and the high light ....dinner at Sue's Indian Raja Restaurant. Chicken tiki masala in Latvia....delicious. Of course we watched the Germany in the Europen Soccer tournament when we returned back to lacplesa 29. Tuesday morning a walk to the bus for a return ride to the airport. So....here is a plan ...for your trip to Riga....

UNH Students Visit Riga

Four UNH students, 2 undergrads and 2 grad students, from Social Work and Family Studies Departments arrived on Monday, May 26 for a 2-week study tour in Latvia. It’s been a busy, event-filled, stimulating learning adventure for us all and certainly a highlight of our year here. They stayed in a 4th floor walk-up (maybe it was the 5th floor?!) B&B a block and one-half away from us, shopped for food and snacks across the street and generally explored the city. I had arranged visits to an orphanage/family crisis center, a family shelter, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations like Soros Foundation & Buckners International) as well as the Ministry of Children & Families and of course Attistiba. We were fortunate to have arranged a meeting with US Ambassador to Latvia Charles Larson followed by meetings with several of the consular staff who deal with issues such as immigration visas, international adoption, passports and other policy and public service matters. Cultural activities included informal, anyone-can-come folk dancing and later in the week a performance of some of the premier Latvian folk dancing groups at a Baltic Sea venue. We had a guided tour of the Occupation of Latvia Museum, portraying the most recent German & Soviet occupation of the country from 1940—1991; the 50-year period after the declaration of independence until Latvia, along with the other Baltic States & several former Soviet states, regained or gained their independence. Journals I read hinted at some additional extra-curricular exploration of Riga life, including night life, not included in the planned schedule.
Since we met almost daily around our dining table during their visit, we do notice it’s a bit quieter now that they have returned to the States. We also have a beautiful bouquet of gerber daisies in a Latvian ceramic vase—a farewell gift. They also left us with positive memories of their engaging efforts to learn about and understand modern-day Latvia, including its human service policies & programs. We look forward to a reunion back in the States with 2 Laurens, Jen & Jenna!!
Story Sequels: Taking out the trash this morning the watchman from the booth downstairs asked me if the four young women were our daughters. Then, just as the trash truck arrived a man about my age looked at my UNH t-shirt and said, in perfect American English, “University of New Hampshire—I’m class of 1957!” Dr. Vieverbrand (sp?) was born in Latvia, raised and educated in the US & is now back teaching a course at the Medical School 3 blocks away from Attistiba. It is indeed, at times, a very small world.
rej

May was a busy month

It is already June 5 and it seems I should recount some of what Bob and I have been doing in May.

Andrew left at the end of April, Gunnar from Finland arrived May 2 and stayed until the 5th and Lilli from Germany arrived on the 9th and stayed until the fifteenth, Barbara from the States arrived on the twelfth and returned to Ipswich on the twenty-third and Bob's four UNH students arrived on May 26 for a two week course/study/tour here in Latvia. They leave this Friday. Gudrun and Mattias from Germany are coming in June for a weekend visit. We're really pleased that so many of our friends have come to Riga.

With all the visitors to "tour" around we have been visiting and revisiting many of the places that we have come to know during our nine months and also venturing out to take in new sites and experiences.

So we have visited Jurmala, the Baltic Sea area several times and seen more museums including the Museum of History and Culture. In May Latvia hosted "museum night" when all museums across the country were free to the public and open until 1 am. We went to see a documentary film called The Soviet Story which is controversial in Russia because it protrays Soviet leaders in a harsh light. Later in the week we saw an art exhibit on The Mythology of Soviet Realism which displayed paintings and sculptures done according to Soviet "guidelines." We've seen Russalka and La Boheme at the opera, gone to the open air ethnographic museum several times and Barbara and I took the train to Cesis and climbed the stone spiral stairways with our candle lantern to light our way. We cheered our young Fulbright friends as they ran the 5K section of the Riga marathon which was won by a Kenyan and heard the Oriana Choir from London in a joint concert with the Hansa Banka choir in St. John's church. The Brits were well received when they sang a Latvian folk song and both choirs combined to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. We attended a 60 year celebration of dance program with folk dance groups from several regions of Latvia at the Dzintari concert venue with the four UNH students.

It now is light from 4:36 to 22:09....(yes, that's correct until 10:09 pm) and of course there is a twilight glow after that. We love the long days of sunshine.

So a few pictures of these many wonderful Latvian experiences will give you an idea of our Maijs, May. Can you match the picture with the descriptions?